The Battle With The Bottle: Methods To Breast Feed If You Find It Difficult
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From the moment your child learns to speak, it’s an everyday battle. But as every parent knows, it starts way beyond this, in fact, from the moment they are born. Case in point: breastfeeding! They say that to breast feed is best, and if we can’t get on board with it we feel like we are failures as parents, but this should not be the case! With this in mind, let’s provide you with some methods that you might be able to work around if you find it difficult.
The Battle With The Bottle: Methods To Breast Feed If You Find It Difficult
Are You Not Producing Enough Milk?
This is the main reason women stop breastfeeding. In actual fact, 95% of nursing mothers can make enough milk. While there’s always a fallback, such as toddler formula and other variations of baby milk, as long as the baby is gaining weight and producing enough dirty nappies, you are producing enough milk! Because many women feel like there’s not enough coming out when expressing milk, they think they’re not producing enough.
Nipple Confusion
For those babies that are given a bottle or pacifier during the early weeks of breastfeeding, this can cause confusion when the breast is introduced. As such, the baby might not be able to latch on properly or may completely reject the breast. The best thing to do is to avoid giving your baby a bottle or pacifier until establishing a nursing routine. This can take up to 4 weeks after the baby has been born. In addition to this, if the problem has gone on for some time you may want to get in contact with a lactation consultant.
Not Being Able To Find Time To Pump
As many women return to work, this tends to be the main reason breastfeeding reduces greatly. It could help to get in contact with a lactation consultant, but also, finding the right pump that’s also hands-free, giving you the opportunity to express milk while doing something else is crucial. It’s also worth practising pumping a few weeks before you go back to work, and it’s important to be flexible. If a baby has a bottle of formula, even if it’s only during the day, any bit of breastmilk is better than at all.
Sharing The Feeding Responsibilities
While it can feel like it’s the duty of the mother, there are ways for partners to help. Sharing responsibilities is crucial but you have to do it as early as possible. During the first few weeks after the birth, nursing the baby is important to stimulate the hormones that influence the milk. But it’s also important for the partner to bond with the baby because this can help them to connect, and so if they can give a bottle of pumped milk, this will work for both of you.
Yes, they say to breast feed is best but if you feel you are not coping with the pressure, don’t feel that you need to do it. It’s important that you feel comfortable with it as well. And if you have a battle with breastfeeding, if you feel that you can’t get on board with it, don’t feel like you are a failure.
Disclosure: This Blog does contain affiliate links which I may earn a small commission from if you purchase through them, at no extra cost to you.
Remember that Self Care Matters!
